06/12/2015

This Ant Stinks

8:09 minutes

odorous ant
An odorous house ant (“Tapinoma sessile”) queen with a worker. Photo by Adrian Smith

Entomologist Clint Penick had an ant-related axe to grind. He had long heard that the “odorous house ant” (Tapinoma sessile) reeked of rotten coconut. However, when he caught scent of this puny household pest, he detected a different stench: blue cheese. With the help of fellow entomologist and post-doctoral researcher Adrian Smith, he set out to prove the actual smell of this ant’s putrid perfume. The results of their research were published in the American Entomologist this week.

Segment Guests

Clint Penick

Dr. Clint Penick is an assistant professor of Insect Ecology at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.

Adrian Smith

Adrian Smith is a post-doctoral researcher of entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and host of the Age of Discovery podcast in Urbana, Illinois.

Meet the Producer

About Becky Fogel

Becky Fogel is a newscast host and producer at Texas Standard, a daily news show broadcast by KUT in Austin, Texas. She was formerly Science Friday’s production assistant.

Explore More

An Algorithm to Identify Every Tree

Researchers are hoping a computer algorithm can help track the health of our urban forests.

Read More

How Silver-Haired Ants Beat The Desert Heat

Ant-Man's cool. But this ant is cooler, thanks to metallic-looking hairs that help it beat the African desert heat.

Read More